A Self-Portrait at Age 60

A SELF-PORTRAIT AT AGE 60

The stone was cut out of the mountain without hands. -- Daniel 2:45

You have the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes,
Prestigious endowment and foundation
Publicity and precious grant surprises;
And little magazines across the nation.
You have the Ivy League expensive schools,
The long tradition, tenured teachers, proud
Alumni, newspaper reporting pools,
And The exclusive New York City crowd.
But where is your great poetry? You have failed.
You judged the poet not the poetry,
The prestige not the product. When I hailed,
My language was unknown. You failed to know me!
Did I waste all my free time when I tried?
Have all the connoisseurs retired or died?